Hiccups
by baby's breath
Summary: Sakura will learn a new and more effective way of getting rid of her hiccups. [SasukexSakura]


... I do not own Naruto...

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**Hiccups**

by baby's breath

_- The Cure -

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_

Sakura grudgingly walked in the morning streets of her home village. She was on her way to the bridge, where her teammates and her sensei would always meet for their training or if they have to go to the Hokage tower to get their missions. In a normal day, she would have skipped her way to the place, knowing that her long-time crush would be there. A bright smile would have brightened her image and people would have no choice but to return a gesture for such a wonderful smile.

But today was not like her every normal day.

Yeah, today is the 28th of March, her birthday. She did prepared herself for this special occasion. She was sure that her friend, Naruto, would treat her to his favorite ramen stand, the Ichiraku. She also knew that her sensei would do greet her and maybe give her a gift or two. And Sasuke, well, he will be just the old, normal Sasuke.

"Hic!"

Back to the real matter at hand, today was not like her every normal day.

"Hic!"

Today, she got the most teribble hiccups she had ever got in her life. Whatever tricks she did, she just can't get rid of the damn- "Hic!" -cups...

Sakura let out a small groan at the back of her throat as she continued her way to the bridge. Her normaly vibrant rosette hair seemed dry and tangly. Her usually bright, gleaming emerald eyes had lost its shine. Her eyelids covered half of her emerald eyes as she looked down on the ground she was walking on.

She never knew that hiccups could destroy her day just like that. Just popping out of no where and on such a very special and important day no less!

"Hic!"

_'Damn...'_

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Sasuke remained silent as he leaned on the bridge's railing and just stared at the clear, running water down below. He looked at his own reflection and glared at it. He does not really see what his fan girls had seen in him that they act so crazy whenever they see him. Just thinking about them made him shiver because of disgust.

A small pink petal landed on the clear surface of the water, causing small ripples to occur. He stared hard at the innocent petal. It floated gently then got carried away by the slight current of the river. Then he remembered his pink-haired teammate. The one he used to call annoying. He really hated how she would always ask him on dates she knew he would decline.

He hated the way she would smile a very bright smile.

He hated how her short tresses would dance with the gentle breeze that pass by.

He hated how those emerald orbs sparkle whenever his own ones met hers.

But there was something nagging him. This day seemed to be something special. He just can't remember, maybe it was not important to him. He just shrugged off the thought.

"Hic!"

He raised his head to see his teammate, Sakura, walking toward him. Her shoulders were slightly drooped and she seemed so dull today. Not that he always stared at her, really. Uchiha Sasuke never stared at her more than what was needed, right? She walked slowly until she was in front of him, and she slumped down at the other side of the bridge.

"Ohayou, Sasuke-kun..."

He tilted his head to acknowledge her greeting and closed his eyes. He leaned his back on the railing and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Now they only have to wait for their other teammate, Naruto, for another half hour and to their always late sensei for three more hours.

"Hic!"

He paid no attention to her hiccups, but as the time passed by it gets rather more and more annoying. How he wanted for Naruto and Kakashi to arrive now so that he can focus on other things like their training other than the hiccups that his companion has. As if Kami had answered his pleads Naruto arrived ten minutes earlier than his usual arrival.

"OHAYOU SAKURA-CHAN! SASUKE-BASTARD!"

Naruto skipped happily toward the female of the group and leaned down to look at her. A big goofy grin was plastered on his whiskered face.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAKURA-CHAN!"

The said person's eyes, that was staring right back at him, widened and a smile made her way to her lips. She hugged the blonde tightly while saying a 'thank you'. The fox boy scratched the back of his neck, his grin becoming toothy showing his canine tooth.

At that time, Sasuke noted that Sakura seemed to brightened up oppose to her dull image a while ago. He seemed to be not favored with the truth that it was the dobe's doing. He also seemed to dislike the amount of time it took her to let go of the blonde. He also seemed to hate the fact that Sakura had just placed a light kiss on the fox boy's cheek. If Sasuke was confused about what he was feeling right now, he does not show it. So he just glared. He glared at the floor of the bridge, to the space that separates him and the other two.

And one more thing to add to his unexplainable hate right now. He just forgot that it was _her_ birthday today. Not that he cared, it just was not fair that the dobe remembered it and he did not. He just felt stupid, that's all. He mentally nodded. Yeah, he just felt stupid, just a teeny, tiny feeling.

"Hic!"

Two pair of eyes, one as blue as the daytime sky and the other as black as the midnight sky, stared at her. She used her right hand to cover her hand, feeling embarassed. There was a moment of silence, and as usual, Naruto was the one to break it.

"Sakura-chan, you have hiccups?"

Stupid.

A really stupid question it was.

And for such a stupid question, he was rewarded with a bonk at the head. Good thing it was not as monstrous as the ones before.

"Itai!"

"Naruto! (hic!) Do you really have to ask that?"

"Ehhhh... gomen Sakura-chan."

Sakura sighed then leaned again at the railing as she hugged her knees. She raised her head as she felt someone staring at her, but as she looked at the Uchiha his eyes were closed. She shrugged the feeling off and hummed a gentle tune as they waited for their tardy sensei. And of course, her hiccups would always interrupt her soft hums.

_POOF!_

Finally, after excruciating three hours of waiting, their sensei finally arrived with his usual poof and cloud of smoke. And he would not forget to bring his trusty _'Icha-Icha Paradise' _with him. The orange book was again near his face, his masked nose buried on it. He waved a hand and muttered a 'Yo!', his eyes never leaving the book.

"You're LATE!" Naruto and Sakura chorused.

"Hic!"

That sound managed to pry Kakashi's eyes off his 'educational' book as he stared at the birthday celebrant. His eyes closed showing that he was smiling beneath his mask.

"You see, I have to g-"

"LIAR!"

"Hic!"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck lazily before he reached for something on his pocket. He threw it to Sakura who caught it with ease and surprise.

"That's second of the reason I was late. Anyway, just go somewhere and celebrate, we don't have training today. Ja!"

With that and a lazy wave of his hand, he buried his nose on his book again and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sakura stared at the small, pink box on her hands. It has a gold ribbon and it glitters as the sunlight hit it. A small card was attached to it and she opened it to read the contents. Naruto was at her back, reading it over her shoulder.

On the other side of the bridge, the sole Uchiha survivor was glaring. He was glaring pointedly at the innocent box that was placed at the palm of Sakura's hands. Seemed like all the hate and confusion he was feeling was suddenly directed to the gift. If the saying was real the box would have exploded and lit into fire because of his heated glare. He was so busy glaring at the thing that he had missed the small conversation Sakura and Naruto had.

"Are you going Sasuke-bastard?... SASUKE!"

He was awakened from his glaring contest with the box when he heard the blonde shouting near his ear. Having no idea where they are going and what they were talking about, he absent-mindedly nodded. From the corner of his eyes he could see Sakura smile a bright smile. Now he was proud of his work, he made her smile. But it seemed not enough, for he has no gift. But seriously, why would he care? Once again, he was confused. The two started walking ahead of him and he had no choice but to follow.

A smirk found its way on his lips when he realized that they were heading to the Ichiraku which had progressed over the years thanks to a certain someone. It had kept its simpleness and their ramen was still number one as the blonde would always say. They entered and Sasuke still has his smirk on. The reason was because Naruto had always taken Sakura at Ichiraku on her birthdays. It was always the same, which for him was very lame.

"Hic!"

"Sakura-chan, why won't you just get rid of that hiccups?"

"Are you stupid? If I can, I would have (hic!) done it first thing in the morning!"

"Ehehe, sorry Sakura-chan."

_BONK!_

Poor Naruto, that was his second one and it was still morning. Just imagine how many he would get until the day ends.

"Have you tried drinking water Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah (hic!)"

"How about standing upside-down?"

"U-huh (hic!)"

"Hmmm..." Naruto placed a finger under his chin, a gesture that he was thinking for once.

"How about I surprise you?"

"(hic!) Well, I have not tried that one."

They entered the restaurant and sat on the stools near the counter. Sakura was in the middle and the two sat on her sides. They ordered three miso ramen and Sakura looked curious as a small cake was placed at the table at her front. It was decorated with small sakura petals and a pink icing outlined the side of the small circle. There was a small candle at the middle and near it a 'Happy Birthday' was written in green icing. She glanced at Naruto who was rubbing the back of his neck, blushing a little.

"Oh Naruto, you shouldn't (hic!) have."

"Ano... Happy birthday again Sakura-chan."

Sakura smiled and hugged him before turning to her other side, only to find the stool empty. She looked around the restaurant and still had not found any signs of her raven-haired teammate.

"Naruto, have you seen Sasuke-kun?"

"He is not there? I don't know, maybe he just decided to walk away so that... so that..."

He fiddled with his pointer finger, much like Hinata, his face turning redder. Sakura sighed before turning to the cake in front of her. Naruto looked at her expectantly before she closed her eyes to make a wish and blew it out. After, their orders arrived and Naruto instantly digged on his bowl, making slurping noises. Sakura ate in silence, most of the time glancing at the steaming bowl of ramen that was untouched. When she was finished, she bid goodbye to Naruto, telling him that he could take her cake home.

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Sakura kicked a stone lying on the ground, her hands at her back and her emerald eyes trained on the ground. It was already afternoon, and the sun was setting. She sighed, followed by a 'hic!'. Her damn hiccups was still there, and she had tried all sorts of things to surprise or scare her. But heck, none of them had worked. She still had not seen Sasuke, which she was hoping would at least greet her a 'Happy Birthday'. She had received lots of greetings and gifts, but it seemed not enough because of Sasuke.

She stopped when she realized that she had reached the bridge where Team Seven always meet. Her eyes widened when she saw Sasuke there too, his eyes looking on the sun that was setting. He looked so beautiful, his ebony hair billowing with the gentle afternoon breeze. His arms were leaning against the railing and she knew that he knew she was there.

"Hic!"

Yeah, he knew she was there.

Sasuke glanced at her, his apathetic eyes staring on her own ones. The breeze whisked by, bringing sakura petals with it. It was a very romantic scene, with the sunset as the background. The gentle sound of the water running below was relaxing and very soft. It truly was a romantic scene.

"Hic!"

Well, except for that one.

"You still have the hiccups?"

His voice was low and caused shivers to run down her spine. It was stated more like a sentence rather than a question. His eyes still stared back at her, inspecting her from head to toe. She was speechless and could only gape at him. She knew she looked stupid, but it was the first time he first made a conversation with her. It was always her who initiate a conversation and she only recieved one word responses.

"Hic!"

"Ano... I've tried everything I (hic!) can think of, but none of them seemed to (hic!) work..."

Sakura's shoulder drooped as she sighed. She realized she seemed to sigh a lot today, and mostly the next thing that would happen is...

"Hic!"

She raised her head when she heard Sasuke chuckled. It was short and sounded like it was restrained. The sound was very deep and caused her heart to skip a beat. His chuckle was the closest to his laugh, and she would do anything to hear that. She stared at him for a while, which seemed like a long time. She made a move to talk, or anything that would give her a reason to make him not leave and stay longer, but nothing seemed to come out of her mouth.

"Hic!"

Except for her damn hiccups.

"I know how to get rid of that," Sasuke said.

"Really? How?"

Before she could process anything that was happening, Sasuke disappeared in a blur and reappeared in front of her. Leaning down stealthily, he pressed his lips on her own. He knew her eyes had widened and she stepped back a little. To keep her from distancing herself more, he snaked an arm around her tiny waist, their kiss not breaking apart. He opened an eye and saw her still with wide eyes.

Now that surprised her.

Sakura's mind was in a turmoil. She can't believe what was happening right now. Just a while ago, she was wishing that at least Sasuke would greet her a 'Happy Birthday'. But damn, this one was much better. When she felt his lips move, she slowly closed her eyes and shyly kissed back. Her arms went around his neck, her hands playing with his hair, and his hand tightened around her waist as a response. She felt like her legs were like jell-O, and she was thankful he had his hand on her waist or she would have fallen.

It seemed like eternity before they finally broke apart, panting heavily. Sakura's face was so red that it matched with the color of her hair. Sasuke was still invading her personal space and she does not know what to do. Her eyes bravely stared on his own, and was it admiration that was shown on his orbs? It had gone as fast as it had come and she was not so sure anymore.

Sasuke stepped back before taking something out of his pocket. He threw it to Sakura who caught it with surprise. It glittered as the rays of the setting sun hit it. Sakura stared at it and her heart beat faster when she saw what it was. A timid smile made its way on her slightly bruised lips and it grew bigger after hearing what Sasuke said.

"Happy Birthday, Sakura."

He watched as her eyes filled with tears, though it was not enough to make it flow to her cheeks. He smirked, remembering how he had to go back to his apartment to get the necklace as a gift. He also remembered how he realized that maybe, he cared for her _more than_ what a teammate would do. Then he remembered the gifts Naruto and Kakashi had given her.

_'Hn, now Kakashi and the dobe **can't** beat that.'_

He disappeared before she can even say thank you. She stared again on the gift at her hand and happily chained it on her neck. The red and white fan that was the pendant hung beautifully in front of her. Today was definitely the weirdest yet best day ever. Not only did her birthday wish came true, heck Sasuke got her first kiss and that was an even better gift! She unconsciously traced the pendant, the Uchiha clan's symbol, and merrily made her way back home.

It would be in a matter of time before she realized that her hiccups were finally gone.

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**- Fin -

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_A/N:_

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**_Happy Holidays!_**


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